A Standard of Holiness

James, the half-brother of Jesus, did not believe in His deity during Jesus' lifetime. How sad that he wasted all of those years that he could have spent with our Messiah, learning from Him and benefiting from His wisdom and spirituality.

Human beings throughout history do this same thing. They rejected Jesus as Messiah until the last minutes of their life, missing all of the blessings they could have enjoyed by having an intimate relationship with Him from their youth.

Satan often interjects his lies in order to keep people from receiving Christ as Savior. Yet, if we submit to God and resist the devil, he has to flee from us (James 4:7).

Then, the gift of grace, which we receive at salvation washes away all of our sins (Ephesians 2:8). I thank God that He came to me when I was 18, and that He gave me the heart to follow Him ever since.

We do not earn salvation and we cannot improve upon it. With salvation there is no condemnation for anything we ever do (Romans 8:1). So why should we strive for holiness and perfection when a place in heaven is already guaranteed to us?

Grace does not give us permission to continue sinning. Although grace abounds in our soul, that is no reason for sin to flourish (Romans 6:1-2). The Bible holds a standard of holiness and perfection for every Believer who is washed in the blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:15; Revelation 7:14).

We sell ourselves short by believing that we cannot live up to this Biblical standard. As Christians we know that God’s Word is the absolute truth on which we base our life. We enter His rest and live according to His precepts without compromise.

Prayer:

Father God, through the power of God’s Spirit within us (Acts 1:8), we stand against the temptations of the flesh, the world and the deceitfulness of Satan’s wiles, which strive to draw us away from Your truth (James 1:13-16). The law of the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death that used to be the norm for our life (Romans 8:2).

Your freedom allows us to live in victory over sin every single day, and to live a purified life. Living in perfection is possible, because Christ lives within us and he is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Thank You for having this perfect plan for our life and for giving us Your Word to encourage us to abide in Your truth forever.

Thought for the Day:

When God's Spirit abides within us, His fruit allows us to walk in holiness all the days of our life; and He conforms our mind to the mind of Jesus.

The Wonders of God

The Word of God brought forth the vast universe, much of it that we are only discovering with today's modern equipment. God's Word also created Adam for His enjoyment and Eve for company for Adam (Hebrews 11:3).

Many people say they will not believe in God, because they cannot see Him and we cannot prove that He is valid. Yet, they believe in the invisible axis of the earth, as well as the invisible rings around the planets that keep them in perfect alignment to one another and circulating speed around the sun, etc.

We cannot see the wind either, but we can see its effects, and they believe in wind. We can see God in nature in a zillion ways that proves He is real, valid and alive today - caring for each one of us (Romans 1:20).

God's Saints worship and die for Him, because of His work in our personal lives. We see, feel, hear from, trust in and rely on Him on a daily basis. We believe.

We not only have eternity to enjoy with Him, but we have the here and now of everyday life. He interacts with us constantly, if we take the time to bask in His presence within us and beside us.

Prayer:

Father God, we bless, honor and praise You. You have no beginning or ending. You not only have ultimate dominion over the earth, but You have an eternal dominion as well. Your Kingdom endures from one generation to the next. No one can hold back Your hand from accomplishing Your purpose with this universe.

We exalt You as King of Heaven and we look forward to King Jesus returning to take up His throne on the earth. We read about New Jerusalem and anxiously await You placing this regal home on earth for us all to enjoy. Your works are true and Your ways are just - even though You must discipline us or send trials in order to work patience into our life (Daniel 4: 34-35)

Thought for the Day:

God is sovereign over the affairs of our life, He knew us before we were born and planned out a perfect schedule of events for us; we circumvent His plans by making our own agenda and ignoring Him unless we get in a bind and really need Him; however, He is always there for us and in us. - Daniel 4:17

Healing from Within - Part 3 - Inner Transformation

Denying our true self and attempting to live up to other people's standards and expectations will belittle our soul and make us feel inferior and "less than" those we relate to on a daily basis.

We all crave acceptance and validation, and there is no one better than us to give that nurturing support to our own soul. Christ in us also affirms our worth, because He died for us individually and paid our personal sin debt for us.

God made us co-heirs with Jesus of His entire Kingdom, He chose us as a Bride for His only begotten Son, as well as members of the Body over which Jesus is the head. We are King's kids.

Christ in us gives us worth by His mercy and grace. We live a fulfilled life by walking in His Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:15-25). We are not inconsequential, because we have value to the sacrificial Lamb who died for us.

We set boundaries around our life and keep toxic people from crossing those lines and wounding us all over again. We dress in ways that make us happy and please the Lord, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

We eat a healthy diet to prevent illness from crippling us mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. We do not suffer from boredom or loneliness, because Jesus is always with us, directing our steps to give us a fulfilling life.

We relate to each person in our life as an individual with worth and acceptance from the Lord. We make room for these people in our life. We function in our church family, serving where we feel called to serve in the areas where they need us. We take an interest in our workmates and neighbors, family and acquaintances.

We stop Satan from whispering lies in our mind by drawing near to God, resisting the devil and he has to flee from us (James 4:7). There is no need for us to hide behind a mask, but we can live as our true self in Christ, feeling happy about who we are and what we feel God calling us to do with our life.

Prayer:

Father God, point out our "idols" to us, so that we can lay them at Jesus' feet for Him to replace with His thoughts and wisdom. Remind us to allow You to mold us by Your grace according to Your plan for our life. When the cares of this life overwhelm us, we cast them on Your strong shoulders, because we know that You really do care about us (1 Peter 5:7) and love us with Your everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Help us not to allow Satan to throw our past up into our mind's focus. Remind us that our past is covered by the blood of Jesus. Also help us not to worry about the future, because we know that You have everything in Your control. We want to forgive those who wounded us, realizing that they too were wounded individuals. Help us to move on from those negative experiences, no matter how painful they were, and to embrace the present and future moments that You have planned for us.

Thought for the Day:

As we pay attention to our body, soul and spirit and listen to our concerns, then we can minister to our self as we minister to other people; and God's Spirit will exchange our fears, insecurities and issues with His calming fruit. - Galatians 5:22-23